New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale 3.51 1111

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

	Percentile
	88
	overall

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
1111	3.51/5.0	3.51/5.0	5.6%	91.7	Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Commercial Description:
Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.

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Bigmmartin (378), Dayton, Ohio, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Aug 5, 2009

Dark reddish beer with a medium brown head. Nice aroma of sweet malts. Flavor is sweet chocolate and roasted malts. Dry in the finish. Smooth and fun.

CaptBier (303), Birmingham, Alabama, USA

3.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.2	5/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	12/20

Aug 2, 2009

A deep red beer with a brown head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of caramel as well as slightly smoked notes. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of berries and caramel.

jvmiller (532), Bel Air, Maryland, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	6/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	16/20

Jul 30, 2009

Very tasty, light roated malt, sweet like a porter, roasted, but not too much. Does not cling to the palate, clean, refreshing for a dark beer. Just very good and drinkable, while roasted and sweet.

Bigsilky (322), Charleston, USA

3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3	6/10	4/5	5/10	3/5	12/20

Jul 30, 2009

Slightly chilled into a New Belgium goblet. Nice head, deep mahoganey color. Toasty malt and a touch of roast in the nose, with suggestion of fresh fig. Malty, somewhat sweet upfront, the malt turns warm and the roast develops. Mild but crisp hops clean the beer up. Very nice, very drinkable. Not amazingly complex, but a solid beer. Try with a nice fontina.

mcmd (147), Louisville, Kentucky, USA

3.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.2	6/10	4/5	6/10	3/5	13/20

Jul 29, 2009

pours a dark brown with offwhite sudsy lacing and small head. Smell is subdued chocolate roasted malt, smoke, toffee. Flavor is a one dimensional mild smoky chocolate malt. Not a huge fan.

6ROW (275), corpus christi, Texas, USA

3.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.2	4/10	3/5	6/10	4/5	15/20

Jul 29, 2009

dark brown pour aroma and light taste of burnt coffee, slight smoke finish. like it

Soonah (980), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	7/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	13/20

Jul 29, 2009

Poured dark, dark brown. The head was off-white and short. The aroma was smoke, roasted malts and thin chocolate. The flavor was lots of smoked malts and some light sweetness that was followed by a slightly sour finish. The mouthfeel is thin and very dry.

iamqueensblvd (237), , Iowa, USA

3.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.9	7/10	5/5	7/10	4/5	16/20

Jul 26, 2009

Classic burnt coffee nose and flavors with a similar nose. much like your classic stout. the only difference was that it was much light in mouthfeel being an ale.

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